It's where the future of the British monarchy is decided, but the finer points of what goes on inside the Royal bedroom remain, thankfully, private. And yet it hasn't always been that way.

In Medieval times, travelling kings used their mobile royal bedchamber as a meeting place, conducting day-to-day business with courtiers on their bed. Moreover, kings and queens would sleep separately, meeting only for conjugal visits.

During the Tudor and Stuart periods - from when Henry VII came to the throne in 1485 - the bedroom quickly took over from the battlefield as the stage where the long-term success of the dynasty would be secured: what happened behind closed doors became a matter of intense public scrutiny.

The bed of Queen Caroline, Queen Consort of King George IV from 1820 until her death in 1821

The bed of Mary of Modena Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland as the second wife of James II and VI from 1685 to 1688

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries the royal bedchamber became a place where aspiring courtiers could gain influence and status: if you were admitted to see the king or queen in their undergarments, you knew you were pretty important.

Now inquisitive historian Lucy Worsley has journeyed into the late night lives of the Royal family, peeking behind the bedroom doors of Medieval kings right through to Queen Victoria.

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Tales From The Royal Bedchamber, screened on BBC4 next week, explores the history of the Royal bedroom, its significance, its style, who was allowed into it and what it meant if you were.

Worsley visits palaces around Britain, from Hampton Court to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, investigating how the bedrooms of the royal family were regarded throughout history.

The bed of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, who died in 1818 at Kew Palace

During the reign of Henry VIII the royal bedchamber became a matter of intense public interest, as the nation became as obsessed as the king was with securing the royal dynasty with a male heir

Speaking to MailOnline, Worsley said: 'The royal bedroom used to be a very, very public place. It was only with Queen Victoria that the bedroom doors really swung closed, and that was partly to do with her character - she really didn't like the human body very much - and partly to do with the chastity and modesty of the age.

'Until the Victorian period there were always people trooping through the royal bedroom.'

'There is still a big overlap between the nation and the
monarchy, but they're not quite the same thing. The body of the royal
family doesn't represent the nation as much as it used to'

Speaking about the current royal family, Worsley said: 'There is still a big overlap between the nation and the
monarchy, but they're not quite the same thing. The body of the royal
family doesn't represent the nation as much as it used to.

'They keep a big boundary between us and them, and although it sounds surprising given media coverage, they are very private - especially by comparison to the monarchs of the past.'

Describing the wedding night of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon, Worsley said: 'Catherine was led from the wedding feast by ladies in waiting, then courtiers de-robed Henry in the bedchamber.

'Until the very last minute the room would have been full of people cheering them on. Then, in the morning, there would have been the "inspection of the sheets" by the ladies of the bedchamber to see if the marriage had been consummated and maybe an heir was on the way.'

The bed Queen Anne commissioned as her death bed, but which wasn't ready until after she died

Historian Lucy Worsley travels into the most intimate rooms used by the Royal family to uncover the history of the royal bedroom

Lucy Worsley travels through Britain visiting royal palaces in search of the history of the royal bedroom

She laments the fact that none of Henry VIII's bedrooms remained in tact, marvels over the extraordinarily ornate bed commissioned by Queen Anne as her deathbed - but, unfortunately, not completed in time -later heralded by George III as 'the most splendid bed in the universe'.

The 'warming pan incident' of 1688

'When King James II's wife Mary gave birth to a healthy baby boy in Hampton Court Palace in 1688, the protestants were not happy.

'James II was catholic
and very unpopular, so the new baby meant there was an heir to the throne who would continue his catholic reign.

'To cause trouble, protestants spread a rumour that Mary's baby had died during childbirth, and that an impostor baby had been snuck into the bedroom by a servant who had carried the swapped baby through the palace in a bed-warming pan.

'They released enormous amounts of detail, including a map of the route the pan had travelled, and although it was, of course, total rubbish, James II was forced to print the accounts of 40 witnesses who had been in the room for the birth: having witnesses was important then, as people needed to be there to check an heir had been born.

'The thing was James
was so unpopular that people wanted to believe the story, so they did, and eventually they knocked him off the throne.

'James lost control of the royal bedroom, and thus lost his kingdom. The story reveals the power of what happens in the royal bedroom.'

Lucy Worsley

The documentary pairs up with an exhibition of Royal bedrooms currently underway at Hampton Court Palace.

Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber explores the bedchamber of the 17th and 18th century royal court, focusing on six magnificent royal beds, including Queen Anne’s magnificent velvet state bed; the state bed of James II's Queen, Mary of Modena, where the famous 'warming pan' incident occurred; and the 'travelling bed' of George II, which
comes apart into 54 pieces and is testament to a time when the King and
his court were often on the move.

A palace spokesman said: 'For the first time ever the world’s largest and rarest collection of early state beds will be presented in one dramatic display which tells the story of how and why the bedchamber became the most public and important destination in the Palace.

'The exhibition will also offer a chance to view architect John Vanbrugh's Prince of Wales’s Apartments - opened for the first time in 20 years.

'Through the stories of their royal owners and servants, visitors will be able to explore the elaborate, sometimes bizarre bedchamber rituals, unusual sleeping arrangements and enjoy the luxurious excesses of the Stuart and Hanoverian courts.'

Historic Royal Palaces' exhibition curator, Sebastian Edwards, said: 'Visitors to the exhibition will discover that, far from being restful places of privacy, the state bedchamber was the seat of power - the equivalent of the modern day boardroom, from which the business of the Kingdom was conducted.

'Events which took place in and around these beds had enormous consequences for society, politics and history.

'Courtiers were knighted, wars were brokered, marriages consummated and mistresses wooed all in the shadow of the royal bed. These are extraordinary beds - but not as we know them today.'